Plan to drive homeless out of downtown Richmond, Virginia

Dubbed the Conrad Center, this building will be located in a neglected valley, isolated from main areas of the city. Already surrounding the property is the city’s jail, a court building, a lumber dealer and the overgrown remnants of railroad yards.

Richmond was once one of the most industrialized cities in the South and, after the Second World War, one the fastest growing industrial center in America. Major tobacco companies had facilities in Richmond, along with chemical companies like Dupont and Ethyl Corporation. While these companies have cut production and their workforces bit by bit, nearly all other manufacturing industries in the city have shut down; many buildings are vacant or used for storage. Replacements for industrial jobs have primarily been low-wage retail and service jobs, and temporary labor.

With the decrease in industry, there has been a catastrophic decline in commercial business and housing. Broad Street, the main thoroughfare of Richmond, is scarred with abandoned department stores and many vacant small businesses. Heading south from downtown, into the Southside area, two miles of commercial buildings lining US Route 360 are almost entirely vacant.

The situation with housing is similar: the overall residential vacancy rate is almost 9 percent. Some blocks are mostly abandoned houses, and on others only a few buildings remain. Richmond’s population has also declined, dipping below 200,000 for the last few years, while its metropolitan area of 1.1 million has experienced continual growth.

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http://wsws.org/articles/2006/mar2006/rich-m31.shtml